Cambo Wide RS Lens Choice

Cambo Wide RS Lens Choice – by Jeff Ludes.
Posted on July 24, 2013

Commercial photographer Jeff Ludes is based in Los Angeles, USA. He specialises in automotive, action-sports and advertising. His clients include; Acura, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Infiniti, Honda, Subaru, Hyundai, Porsche, Lexus, Toyota, Nissan, Kia and Mitsubishi.

We spoke to Jeff Last last month about why he chose to invest in the Cambo Wide RS camera. His kit consists of the Wide RS, the new Wide WRC-400 and six lenses.

The range of lenses he uses are; Rodenstock 32 HR-W, 40 HR-W, 50 HR-W, Schneider 60 Digitar, Rodenstock 70 HR-W T/S and Schneider 90 Digitar T/S. All of the lenses are fitted in the Cambo Helical Focus mount and the last two lenses have the T/S (Tilt and Swing) option

Q. Jeff, the Ford Fusion project was a huge hit with our readers. Can you tell us more about your work, why you selected the lenses you have and do you stitch any of your images?

“No, I try to avoid stitching images on jobs, because it adds 2-3 times the amount of shooting time. If I am doing bracketed exposures, plus with and without additional strobes, for example, it can really add up. I would rather use a wider lens to get more of the scene in the first place- a good reason I like my wide lenses! However, there have been many cases where half way into a shoot, I noticed some great light just outside of my my frame, and I can then easily shift over to get an extended image. Then shift back and my frame is still perfectly aligned with the composition that my Art Director loves. Here are two examples of that (large images below with the others). With the high resolution backs, lack of resolution isn’t a reason to stitch either.”

enlarge click here | Cambo Wide RS, Rodenstock 40HR-W © Jeff Ludes Photos LLC

enlarge click here | Cambo Wide RS, Schneider 60XL Digitar © Jeff Ludes Photos LLC

Q. You have a selection of 6 lenses why did you choose these lenses?

“I knew I wanted a good selection of lenses, to avoid stitching as discussed above. It just means less work to get it right the first time. And in cases where I have two cameras shooting concurrently, there are enough lenses to choose from that each shot probably gets the most suitable lens. I started by choosing my widest lenses, because I use them most, and some are much better than others. I knew I wanted the 32mm HR-W- it’s much sharper, especially when used with shifts, than the 35mm Digitar I was used to. And much less light falloff at the edges as well. From there, the other HR-W lenses were spaced nicely through the range, though I added a 60 and 90 Digitar to fill the gaps. I am equally impressed with all of them. The very widest lenses still can’t match the sharpness of the others, but my crew and I are always wowed every time we look at the images on set. There is just so much detail and life in them!”

click to enlarge | Cambo Wide RS, Schneider 60XL Digitar © Jeff Ludes Photos LLC

click to enlarge | Cambo Wide RS, Rodenstock 70HR-W T/S © Jeff Ludes Photos LLC

click to enlarge | Cambo Wide RS, Rodenstock 32HR-W © Jeff Ludes Photos LLC

Q. A few of our readers watched the video and have noticed some gaffer tape stuck around the digital back and Wider RS – why?

“The tape on the cameras- this was mostly an old habit left over from using other cameras that are not as “tight” as the Cambo. When there is a little bit of play between the lens, the body, the plate, and the back, it makes problems for the retoucher when many images are layered together and don’t match up in position. The Cambo’s don’t have this issue, and now I only use a little piece for good luck on the pesky H-mount release. I chose the H mount because that system is what is most readily available when I need to add a second back, or switch to a SLR with autofocus when shooting hand-held. Unfortunately, it has a very unreliable single hook to mount the digital back! So a little piece of camera tape is cheap peace-of-mind.” Good news that the Cambo mount is tight, so we have no need to worry!

click to enlarge | Cambo Wide RS, Rodenstock 32HR-W © Jeff Ludes Photos LLC

click to enlarge | Cambo Wide RS, Schneider 60XL Digitar © Jeff Ludes Photos LLC

click to enlarge | Cambo Wide RS, Schneider 60XL Digitar © Jeff Ludes Photos LLC

All images are subject to copyright © of Jeff Ludes Photos LLC and may not be reproduced in any medium without consent http://www.jeffludes.com

Thanks Jeff, its always good to get feedback from Cambo photographers! If there are any further questions about Cambo, lenses, choosing digital backs you are welcome to contact us.